


not like that

by lemoncheerios



Category: 5 Seconds of Summer (Band)
Genre: Accidental Bonding, Best Friends, Childhood Friends, Cute Michael Clifford, F/M, Friendship/Love, Romantic Fluff, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-07
Updated: 2019-02-07
Packaged: 2019-10-24 00:26:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,169
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17694089
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lemoncheerios/pseuds/lemoncheerios
Summary: Michael's definitely friendzoned his childhood best friend... until he hasn’t and it’s confusing.





	not like that

He opened the door, body heavy and voice thin with the exhaustion of a job well done in the studio, and there she was. Michael wasn’t surprised since she was always there. She’d always been there, as long as he could remember. 

She was there the day he broke his arm jumping off the swing set in grade two. She was there when they found out about their big tour. She was there every time he called, homesick and lonely, while he was away. And when the long months of back to back touring had ended, she was there to share a space with so he could be alone but never get lonely. 

She was his best friend, and outside of his bandmates, his only tie to home. She’d moved across the world to chase her dreams and when given the choice between New York and Los Angeles, there hadn’t been a choice when it meant she could have her best friend as a safety net should she need him, so she’d joined him in Los Angeles.

Or he had before this moment, standing in the doorway of the apartment they shared. She was on the couch and didn’t look up when he opened the door. Gaze intent on the screen she faced, her body curled toward her point of focus and bare feet tucked under her. She wore only a t-shirt -his tshirt, he noted- and in the dim glow of the television, she looked ethereal. Michael felt the kick of his heart as it shifted into double time and it felt.. Weird. That was new.

“Fucking god damnit NO WAY” she yelled, throwing the controller to the floor as she leapt to her feet. The flurry of motion startled him, but he was relieved. That wasn’t new, and he wasn’t sure he’d liked the new thing. She noticed him when he started laughing and turned toward him, bottom lip jutting out and brows lowered over eyes that snapped with anger. “I losttttt” she whined as she plopped back onto the couch without bothering to pick up the controller. 

“I noticed” he grinned, “nice shirt.” 

She tugged at the hem of the shirt that was oversized even on him, and practically swallowed her whole, “Thanks, I stole it from some jerk.”

“Oh is that what we’re doing now?” he cocked an eyebrow and pretended to be insulted. 

Lips pressed together, she nodded, “It is. That and laundry. That I finished, and yours is in your room,” she paused for effect before bowing as dramatically as she could from a sitting position, “You’re welcome.”

“Fuck yes!” he punched a victory fist into the air. Michael really hated laundry, and she loved it. Her days off that meant it all got done were his favorite and totally worth the couple of shirts that disappeared from his wardrobe sometimes because of it. It was a fair trade, he thought as he yawned. He bent to retrieve the controller from the floor and dropped it in her lap on his way to bed, but before he’d made it half way down the hall her voice called him back. 

 

He stopped short, turning to face her with as much patience as he could muster at- what time was it anyway? 

 

“D’you wanna watch the sun rise with me?” she asked.

He didn’t, so he was rather surprised when he heard himself say, “Sure.”

Her smile would have put the sun to shame in that moment, he thought. Then he thought about that thought, brows pulling together as he turned it over in his mind like it was a foreigner. He wasn’t sure where it’d come from, and it was a little unsettling. 

They walked side by side up to the roof of their building, strides matched as effortlessly as breathing. Michael noticed that too, but tried to push it away. You’re just tired, he chided himself. It’s not like that. 

As hard as he tried, he couldn’t stop noticing things now that he’d started. He wondered briefly if he’d stepped into an alternate reality when he walked in the door tonight. One where his best friend was replaced with the girl of his dreams and no one told him. They made it to the spot on the roof they’d claimed as theirs, and she walked to the edge of the building, peering over the side to the sidewalk thirteen stories below. Without looking, she reached back, seeking his hands that he offered up to her and she proceeded to settle on her waist. He gripped her the way she expected him to, the way he always did. She hated heights, but loved to test her own limits, and gingerly she stepped a foot up onto the ledge. Michael tightened his grip when he felt her breath shake. Just like he always did. 

But this time was different. He noticed the flare of her ribs, and the curve of her hip. He kept his gaze trained on the curve of jaw as she peered at the horizon that was starting to go a little gray instead of black. He kept his gaze on her face because if he didn’t he might spend a little too much time appreciating the curve of her ass in the brief cut panties she wore since from this angle she stood a couple feet above him and it wouldn’t be hard to look. He made a point of not looking, cheeks tinting pink at the consideration alone. 

Eyes trained on her face, he noticed the way her hair curled around her ear and licked at her cheek where it had escaped her ponytail. He saw the the way her well groomed brows drew together in equal parts anxiety and determination and the smattering of summer freckles across the bridge of her nose. He saw the bow of her lips and even though he saw her every day, and he could probably draw her face with his eyes closed, he felt like he’d never seen her before. Not like this. 

This time, when someone drew a shaky breath, it was him. 

“It’s almost time,” he whispered,pressing his fingers into her waist to pull her toward him. It was true, the sun was going to peek over the horizon any moment. But truly he just didn’t trust himself to hold her there anymore. He felt a little too unsteady as his hands shook a little along with his breath. He hoped she wouldn’t notice, but was unsurprised when she turned to him the moment both feet were safely on solid ground. 

“You okay?” she asked, eyes wide as she searched his face for the source of his distress. His breath caught in his throat, because now that he’d started noticing he couldn’t stop and she just looked so beautiful. He worked hard at keeping his gaze trained on her eyes, not allowing it to drift down to her lips. She couldn’t know what he was thinking, or feeling. She just couldn’t know. He couldn’t risk making it weird. He couldn’t.. “Hey. Stay with me,” she prompted softly, hand coming up to his cheeks and bringing his focus back to her. Her curious expression had grown wings and become concern in his moment of spaced out anxiety and he felt a little guilty for something he didn’t quite understand. 

“I’m good. Just tired,” he assured her with a soft smile. There was nothing else he could say, not yet and maybe not ever. She didn’t look like she believed him, and he should have known she wouldn’t. She knew him better than anyone else. But luckily he didn’t need to think of another excuse when the sun peeked over the horizon at the edge of the city. He nodded toward the horizon and she turned, concern forgotten as she trained her sights into the distance. Sunrise in LA wasn’t some magical thing like sunset was. At sunset, the sun slipped into the ocean in an array of rich colors that painted the entire town in shades of pink and gold for just a few moments. But here on the roof of this building, you could catch just the right angle around the buildings and intrusions of LA to watch the sun sleepily rise just over the peaks of the hills and it was almost like playing peekaboo with fire. 

 

Michael smiled at his own imagery as he glanced down at the girl in front of him- the girl he’d never seen like that until just a few hours prior and how he just couldn’t stop thinking about all the ways it felt like things had changed when nothing had changed at all. That, he thought with more than a little irony, was truly playing peekaboo with fire. He alternated watching the sun come up, and watching her watch the sun come up. He couldn’t decide which was the better view. 

When the sky was properly lit with early morning light, they wordlessly made their way back to their apartment and followed the same routine they followed every morning. She showered while he made coffee, and when she was done she left the water running so he could jump in right after. Sometimes, if he wasn’t quick enough, the hot water would run out and he’d roll his eyes at her as he finished up the shower with cold water. Today he was a little grateful for the cold shower. 

Most days, by the time Michael returned to the common spaces, she was already gone to work. Today was not most days, and he panicked a little when she was still sitting at the island, his mug in her hand as she sipped his cold coffee and scrolled through something on her phone. He joined her, determined not to make this weird. 

He immediately made it weird.

“Dude, can you put some pants on?” 

“What? No.” She didn’t even look up from what she was doing, outright refusing his request without consideration. She hated pants and didn’t often wear them if she didn’t have to. Most days, she wore dresses. At home, she wore big t-shirts or hoodies with tall socks tugged up her thighs. It’d never bothered Michael before, but today he was preoccupied with try not to stare. Not at the short expanse of smooth thigh between her tall pink socks, or at the black lace edge of her bumblee underwear. He was so focused on the countertops that he didn’t notice her staring at him. 

“Michael…” his name was a question and a warning wrapped in a thick layer of confusion. 

“Hm,” he hummed, trying to look busy. Unfortunately for him, the kitchen was remarkably clean and he picked at nothing. 

“Michael.” More firmly this time, and he felt her gaze burning into him. He lifted his to meet it and felt his face go hot and his chest tighten, “What the fuck is going on with you?” 

“Nothing,” he lied. 

 

“Liar,” she countered, standing up and stepping toward him. Her hands fell to his shoulders, gaze softening despite her mounting confusion and irritation that he wasn’t being forthcoming. He never lied to her, but she’d seen him lie enough to recognize it. 

She held his eyes, asking questions and silently trying to decipher whatever this weirdness was. The lying, the fidgeting. He watched her as she tried to pull it all from his face, puzzling together his emotions like a Rubix cube he was desperate for her not to solve. 

“Please, dont.” his voice was barely above a whisper, and he poured every ounce of intention that he could into the request. Please, don’t make me say it. She had a long track record of knowing Michael better than he knew himself, though, and the few moments that passed in silence felt like an eternity before her eyes grew wide. Then wider still as her fingers curled into his shoulders, gripping and then releasing. Michael looked down at them, and then up at her again but she wasn’t where he expected. 

She was closer, and then closer still. By the time he realized what was happening, she was just a breath away and he leaned into her, closing the gap and capturing her lips with his because if they were going to kiss, he wanted to be the one to kiss her. It started as a question, but fell into a strange familiarity that tingled at his awareness in the strangest of ways. They’d never done this before, but it felt like they’d always meant to. It felt right, as if the world had clicked into place the moment their lips met. They kissed until his lips tingled, and when they finally parted, she tucked her face into the crook of his neck and whispered, “Finally.” 

And Michael exhaled a breath he didn’t realize he’d been holding as he wrapped his arms around her possessively and trailed kisses across her throat because now, it was _definitely_ like that.


End file.
